Test to identify the appropriate antibiotic to cure H.pylori infection, says Nobel Prize winner

Nobel laureate Barry J. Marshall discusses curing H.pylori through bacteriologic principles and precision medicine in webinar lecture.

“Once we understand the weakness of Helicobacter pylori (H.pylori), we can cure it. We are not frightened of H.pylori anymore,” Nobel laureate Barry J. Marshall, who discovered bacterium Helicobacter pylori and its role in gastritis and peptic ulcer disease in 1982, said on Monday.

This observation was in reply to a question on antimicrobial resistance in H.pylori when he raised the need to follow bacteriologic principles — biopsy followed by a culture test. “Do sensitivity testing, follow bacteriologic principles. Isolate the organism, test antibiotics (for resistance) and do specific treatment to get high cure rates,” he told reporters during a virtual meeting.

While breath tests are being done, he elaborated on the string test in which an encapsulated string is swallowed and passed into the stomach and after waiting for about 30 minutes, a H.pylori sample is lifted (the bacteria attaches to the end of the string). This has a COVID-19 connection, he said, pointing out that every hospital now had polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machines using which the H.pylori sample can be analysed, indicating to which antibiotic it was resistant. With the PCR test result, precise treatment can be recommended, and with the right antibiotic, the cure rate is better, Professor Marshall explained.

Through personalised and precision medicine, the antibiotics necessary to treat infection can be given, and this will prevent the development of superbugs, he added.

On September 25, Professor Marshall will deliver a lecture on “The journey of discovery of Helicobacter Pylori and further...” at a webinar organised by MedIndia Hospitals and MedIndia Academy. T. S. Chandrasekar, organiser and chairman, MedIndia Hospitals, said the discovery changed the medical perception for gastritis and peptic ulcer from physiological basis to infectious cause.